Cordray: Opposing Comments Delayed Mortgage APR Rule

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray said during Tuesday’s NCUA-sponsored webinar that the bureau received so many comments opposing a proposed rule that would require fees and closing costs to be included in mortgage APR calculations, it decided to shelve the proposal until later this year.

However, the APR rule is mandated by Congress per the Dodd-Frank Act, so the bureau is “trying to decide how to handle that,” the CFPB director said.

Cordray said that he anticipates the bureau will reconsider the proposal later this year when it releases final rules regarding the integration of TILA and RESPA disclosures. Neither the APR rule or disclosure integration were required by Congress to be finalized by January 2013, so the bureau has time to continue crafting the remaining mortgage rules, he said.

Cordray also said the CFPB is working closely with the NCUA and other regulators to prepare exam materials for examiners and institutions regarding new mortgage regulations finalized thus far.

“They will signal our approach toward examinations and help us be consistent among all entities that do mortgage lending,” he said.

The CFPB is also working to provide additional information regarding the plethora of rules it has issued in the last year. Cordray admitted the rules, which are in some cases nearly 1,000 pages long, “aren’t the most readable in the world” but had to be written in legalese to avoid court challenges.

“We’re trying to translate those into plain English and will have the docs out fairly soon,” he said.

Credit unions that have questions about new CFPB regulations can submit questions directly to the bureau, but Cordray said if they can wait a few months to put out the more user-friendly materials, “much of that will be made clear.”

The CFPB director also clarified that the bureau will only conduct examinations of credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets. The NCUA will examine credit unions smaller than $10 billion – the overwhelming majority of the industry – to ensure compliance with CFPB regs.